Aussies will no longer need to provide a negative Covid-19 test to enter the United States

Australians will no longer have to provide a negative Covid test to be allowed into the Unites States after a huge tourism rule change.

The American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is tipped to lift a standing travel rule which currently requires travellers to provide a pre-departure negative Covid test to enter the US in an official announcement.

The American travel industry lobbied heavily against the restrictions and a key White House official revealed the key requirement will be lifted now the CDC has deemed it isn’t necessary ‘based on the science and data’.

Tourism industry executives in America hope scrapping the testing requirements will make travelling to the States more enticing for overseas tourists

Lines for Covid tests, passports and ticketing changes have left many travellers fuming as the travel and tourism industry has spent much of 2022 slowly shifting back into gear

Travellers 18 years old and over are still required to be fully vaccinated to enter the United States.  

Current figures show the US has 1,485,956 active Covid cases.

Requirement of a negative Covid test will be scrapped from Sunday with an unnamed official revealing the CDC will reassess the move in 90 days.

‘If there is a need to reinstate a pre-departure testing requirement – including due to a new, concerning variant – CDC will not hesitate to act,’ the source said. 

The expected move will come just in time for the northern hemisphere’s summer travel season (pictured, South Beach, Miami)

Negative Covid tests haven’t been a requirement for travellers crossing over US land borders, but since the start of last year were required for all international tourists flying into the country (pictured, Las Vegas, Nevada)

The move is just in time for the northern hemisphere summer, with demand having bounced back in the travel and tourism industry post pandemic.

Industry leaders in the States were unhappy with the requirement and at a meeting with Biden administration officials labelled the rules as unnecessary and detrimental to the economy.

‘Quite frankly, the only impact the pre-departure testing requirement is having is a chilling effect on an already fragile economy here in the US,’ Airlines for America chief Nick Calio previously said in a statement. 

Testing hasn’t been required of travellers entering through land border crossings. 

Since the beginning of 2021, the US required pre-departure negative Covid tests from hopeful travellers produced within the three days before they were due to leave. 

The rule was strengthened in December, requiring travellers to test on the day before departure.

The United States join a host of other countries who have also dropped Covid entry requirements, apparently confident in the results of vaccination efforts, hospitals and new antivirals.

Some countries no longer maintain any Covid-specific requirements, including the UK and Iceland.

The US has had some 85.4million cases since the start of the pandemic, and more than one million deaths.